THE SFA’s zero tolerance policy on gambling will not be softened in the wake of the Ian Black betting furore.

Black was banned for three games after being found guilty of gambling against his own team

Chief executive Stewart Regan has made it clear that clubs who plead ignorance to the system are guilty of deliberately muddying the waters and pandering to the rule-breakers.

Earlier this month Rangers midfielder Black was banned for three games after being found guilty of gambling against his own team on three occasions over the past six years.

Following the Black revelations, Hampden chiefs were told that a betting culture in the Scottish game was rife and a blanket ban was both impractical and illogical given a more relaxed approach across Europe and even in England.

However, Regan insists the SFA are right to stick by the rules for fear of starting off on a slippery slope towards the ultimate crime of match-fixing.

Regan said: “We are working with clubs and PFA Scotland and clearly there’s an opportunity for further education.

“But if you look at our rules there’s nowhere to hide. It’s very clear – you should not bet on football, full stop.

“There are a number of inconsistencies across the game, from countries where you can bet on your own team and your own division to countries where you can bet on another division and any other competition outwith your own country.

“Then there are countries like Scotland where you’re not allowed to bet at all.

“You could have a whole debate on the pluses and minuses of allowing us to come off the stance that we’ve taken.

The minute you come off a zero tolerance approach you’re opening the door, no matter how slightly, to potential issues for yourself in the future.

Stewart Regan, SFA chief executive

“My view is very simple. The minute you come off a zero tolerance approach you’re opening the door, no matter how slightly, to potential issues for yourself in the future.

“If betting, and if match-fixing in particular are the scourge of the game and could be the scourge of the game going forward, why would you want to change it?”

The fact Black copped a three-game ban with a further seven games suspended was seen in some quarters as too soft. As the judgment was delivered by an independent panel, the SFA are in no position to offer an opinion on the sentence.

But Regan does feel the case of Scotland international Black is pivotal – and that the SFA are right to forbid gambling for all players, coaches and staff involved in the game.

He said: “The very fact that this case in particular has received so much publicity will change the way that players behave.

“This is the first case we have had clear evidence from different sources that proved Ian Black had bet on football and, indeed, had bet against his club.

“That’s why the case was presented to the judicial panel and that’s why the sanction was put in place. You can argue whether you think it was too lenient, or whether it didn’t go far enough or set the right tone – but it’s an independent process.

“The panel considered the facts, the nature of the bets, the information available in the public domain and they came up with the sanction.

“We are simply implementing the process.”

Regan was speaking yesterday at the announcement of a sponsorship deal for the new Lowland League which will be part of the pyramid structure in the Scottish game from the start of season 2014-15.